This anime is amazing. It scores a 10/10 on almost everything I can think of. So if you have free time (ha!) sometime ever, put aside some time to watch it. If it's not a genre you like, well, tough. I watched Your Lie in April, a genre I absolutely despise, and I can honestly that anime is a work of art.
That said, let's get down to business.
Short synopsis (spoiler-free):
Fate/Zero is about the war to obtain the Holy Grail, a vessel that can grant one wish. Forget why people be fighting over it, they just are.
Did someone mention the Holy Grail?
The war is waged between seven masters and seven servants; the masters being mages (with a few minor exceptions) who summon the servants - heroes of legend with extraordinary abilities. Each servant has a different class, the classes being: Saber, Archer, Lancer, Rider, Berserker, Assassin, and Caster.
Fate/Zero tells the story of each master and servant, all fighting to obtain the Grail for different reasons: immortality, absolution, world peace, magic...reasons, et cetera. They all engage in intrigue, assassination (guess which servant is good at that part), espionage, and sometimes all-out brawling in order to eliminate the other masters/servants and obtain the Grail for themselves.
Depicted - the servants (I won't say who's who, but you can probably guess).
Characters:
Fate/Zero shines in its brilliant character portrayal and development. You'd think, having at least fourteen "main" characters (each master/servant pair), that one pair would stand out above the rest as the real main characters. But that's not really the case with Fate/Zero. Sure, the cast gets thinner as people are eliminated, so the later characters get more development than the less fortunate ones, but each character has a clear motivation, is memorable, and has personality. You even sometimes get stuck wondering who you're supposed to be rooting for, and that's the true genius of what Fate/Zero does: juggling all its characters like a master and dropping them at just the opportune moment to make their death pointed and influential.
Music:
The soundtrack for this anime is exceptional. The sweeping orchestrals and haunting choruses lend huge emotion to each episode, and are perfectly timed with their scenes. You'll have many chills, thrills, and heartbreaks (particularly near the end). I own this soundtrack, I find it that beautiful.
Visuals:
As far as budget, Fate/Zero had a nice one, and it's really reflected in just how good the animation is. You can see it in the fight scenes, in the special effects, and particularly in Berserker. Man, that guy looks awesome.
Tell me I'm wrong. I dare you.
Cleanliness:
It's hard to fault Fate/Zero here at all, because the anime is surprisingly devoid of sexual material (thankfully) save for one scene where it's implied that a guy is, ahem, in his birthday suit (nothing explicit is shown) and another that is just...plain disgusting (not really sure how to explain, but it doesn't show anything explicit either). Cussing is minuscule to nonexistent - surprise, modern media! You can actually make something good without swearing! Helloooooo!
Sorry. But anyway, if Fate/Zero had to be faulted on anything, it would be the excessive violence in the actual anime. There's quite a few murders, particularly with one master/servant pair who are blatant serial killers, and there is also fighting aplenty. So be warned, it's a bloody anime with some traumatic content. PG-13 at least.
Another point of...perhaps fault would be the philosophy expressed throughout the anime. There are numerous different points of view presented, and the anime seems to leave you to answer the question of which way is right. Personally, I see error in all of them, and would simply advise that you not get lost in the endless stream of assertions made by each character. This anime is not for the person who doesn't have their head on straight.
Overall Impression:
I give Fate/Zero a 9.5 out of 10, because nothing can be truly perfect. But I think this anime gets pretty close.
It's hard to fault Fate/Zero here at all, because the anime is surprisingly devoid of sexual material (thankfully) save for one scene where it's implied that a guy is, ahem, in his birthday suit (nothing explicit is shown) and another that is just...plain disgusting (not really sure how to explain, but it doesn't show anything explicit either). Cussing is minuscule to nonexistent - surprise, modern media! You can actually make something good without swearing! Helloooooo!
Sorry. But anyway, if Fate/Zero had to be faulted on anything, it would be the excessive violence in the actual anime. There's quite a few murders, particularly with one master/servant pair who are blatant serial killers, and there is also fighting aplenty. So be warned, it's a bloody anime with some traumatic content. PG-13 at least.
Another point of...perhaps fault would be the philosophy expressed throughout the anime. There are numerous different points of view presented, and the anime seems to leave you to answer the question of which way is right. Personally, I see error in all of them, and would simply advise that you not get lost in the endless stream of assertions made by each character. This anime is not for the person who doesn't have their head on straight.
Overall Impression:
I give Fate/Zero a 9.5 out of 10, because nothing can be truly perfect. But I think this anime gets pretty close.
